The blower/vacuums are well known as lawn and garden implements which are used for blowing or picking up various debris, such as leaves and grass clippings. A typical blower/vacuum in suction mode comprises a housing that encloses an electric motor having a rotatable shaft on which is connected a fan placed in a housing. During the rotation of the motor, the fan mounted on the shaft rotates and creates a suction which draws the leaves and other lawn debris into the fan inlet where they are shredded and then ejected from the fan outlet. A handle is provided on the housing to allow the operator to hold and direct the inlet of the blower/vacuum. In the mode normally used, the blower/vacuum discharges debris into a small collection bag coupled directly to the fan outlet of the blower/vacuum. The operator wears the debris collection bag on his shoulder with a belt attached to the bag. The weight of the debris that accumulates in the bag tires out the operator in time. When the collection bag is full, the operator disconnects the collection bag from the fan outlet of the blower/vacuum, unzips a zipper provided in the bag, and then dumps the debris out of the bags into a larger disposable bag to collect debris, a trash can or a place for decomposing debris The operator can then close the collection bag with the zipper, connect it to the blower/vacuum and continue to collect debris. This type of debris collection bag, although effective for collecting small amounts of debris, quickly becomes limiting for the collection of large amounts of debris. It must frequently be emptied which becomes tedious and slows significantly the work of the operator. In addition to the weight of the bag and debris, the bag being suspended from the operator's body, the dust emitted by the air output through the bag pores can be annoying to operators.
Other debris collection systems were invented to correct problems of the conventional system described above. U.S. Pat. No. 7,506,403 B2 has a collection bag in a cart with wheels, the bag must be emptied when full and the system is designed for one type of bag. The operator also has the disadvantage of pulling a wagon wheel with the bag of debris. U.S. Pat. No. 7,587,785 B2, the operator wears the receptacle on his back to collect the debris and debris must be emptied into a bag for disposal. For the U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,293 B2, leaves are collected directly into a bag with slots to the air outlet, the bag is disposable which eliminates the need to pour the debris and the bag is designed specifically for the system. The bag is attached to the blower/vacuum and the weight of the bag and debris is carried by the operator. It is not possible to use a wide variety of bags to collect debris which limits the choice of supplier. The bag is of small dimensions compared to the collection bag for lawn debris. For U.S. Pat. No. 7,962,996 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 7,917,992 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,752,706 B2, the debris is collected in a large collection bag inserted into a large solid container mounted on a cart. The cart can be moved and carries the weight of debris. This system is relatively heavy and large. It can be cumbersome to move over rough terrain. The operator must move the cart as the work progresses. In U.S. Pat. No. 8,091,815 B2, blower/vacuum and leaf debris are transported in a wheelbarrow or a big truck while for U.S. Pat. No. 8,100,416 B1, it is transported in a small two-wheeled cart. For the latter, the debris is collected in a small bag. These two patents have the same shortcomings as the aforementioned patents. For U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,257,858 B2, 6,574,829 B1 and 4,713,858, the debris collection system is maintained by a support frame made of metal or a metal container. Debris is collected into a large bag. These systems are fixed and the leaves must be near the system to be collected. The operator cannot easily move the system in use. For U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,341,612 B2, 7,185,389 B2 and 4,723,971, the debris is sucked into a small bag or into a rigid container without being shredded first, requiring much more space for storage. In addition, the materials must be small as dust or sawdust, and it is not suitable for collection of whole leaves. The system moves on casters or wheels which can pose a problem when the ground is uneven. A single bag model can be used.
Accordingly, it is necessary in the art of collecting debris to have a debris collection system allowing both the mobility of the operator and the collection of large amounts of debris without having to pour debris in another bag and without requiring the operator to carry the bag of debris. Similarly, it is also necessary to have a versatile system that can use a wide variety of bags sold by different companies for the collection of debris to reduce the cost of buying bags and therefore storage costs of debris.
In the art of debris collection, the debris is usually kept in bags placed in metal containers or plastic which is covered with a lid to prevent odors and to protect them from weather. These lids are often round in shape and slightly curved. These lids are designed to be watertight and airtight for the needs for which they are intended. One of these types of lid has a groove on the side wall. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,691,840, 5,163,577, 5,085,340, 5,160,060, U.S. Des. 326,342 and CA 2542229 refer to this type of lid. These lids do not have any openings in the top, which takes away the possibility of inserting debris into containers or bags inside the containers without having to remove the container lid.
Accordingly, as this type of lid, round in shape and having a groove on the side wall, with openings for the air outlet and openings for the discharge of lawn debris directly into a collection bag using a blower/vacuum in suction mode, did not exist, Laliberté, W. and D. Laliberté, 2011, in the patent application CA 2,748,583 (U.S. Ser. No. 13/539,322), have invented a type of lid adapted to this need. They also presented the possible modifications to existing lids using their invention to allow their use with the collection system described in their patent application.
The type of lid stated in the patent application CA 2,748,583 (U.S. Ser. No. 13/539,322) from Laliberté, W. and D. Laliberté, 2011, with a groove on the side to hold the bag up around the lid with a bungee cord, although very effective, the application technique molding plastics is more expensive than the manufacturing technical plastic injection. Indeed, the presence of the groove on the side does not allow the use of the technique of injection molding, which is better suited for producing large quantities with the lowest costs per lid.
This is in order to reduce production costs inherent in this type of lid that a new type of lid without a groove, but with a curved edge to the outside, was designed to be manufactured by plastic injection molding. This type of lid is described in patent applications CA 2,764,509 (U.S. Ser. No. 13/555,147) from Laliberté, W. and D. Laliberté, 2012 and CA 2,780,100 (U.S. Ser. No. 13/561,001) from Laliberté, W. and D. Laliberté, 2012. However, in these patent applications, the ribbed connecting pipe is attached to the lid with a ribbed coupling pipe and requires the use of several flexible cable ties.
In the patent application CA 2,780,100 (U.S. Ser. No. 13/561,001) from Laliberté, W. and D. Laliberté, 2012, the lid with a curved edge and domed air outlets has a molded rigid handle and a hook molded at the same time as the lid, the hook holds the 90-degree elbow to the entrance of debris. The handle and the hook, which is used to hold the 90 degree elbow, are complex to mold and pose a risk of breaking in the effort and irreversibly damaging the lid.
In patent applications CA 2,748,583 (U.S. Ser. No. 13/539,322), CA 2,764,509 (U.S. Ser. No. 13/555,147) and CA 2,780,100 (U.S. Ser. No. 13/561,001) from Laliberté, W. and D. Laliberté the membrane that supports the debris collection bag is not protected, which limits the use of the collection system on lawn ground.
The ribbed connecting pipe is maintained on the fan outlet of the blower/vacuum with a plastic coupling sleeve held by a single plastic cable tie near each end. During heavy use, the sleeve may detach from the ribbed connecting pipe or the fan outlet of the blower/vacuum.
This is to improve the four points mentioned above as new methods have been developed for the leaf collection system.